Be agents of social change, Adesina tasks students

By Lucy Ogalue

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, has urged graduating students of Calvin University USA, to be  instruments of social change.

Adesina in a statement, said this during his Commencement Address to the Class of 2023 at Calvin University, Michigan, USA.

While commending the great qualities of the school president, Wiebe Boer, Adesina thanked him for the opportunity to address the students.

“ I have known President Boer for many years. He is a decent, humble, innovative leader who passionately cares about development. You all are fortunate to have him.

“This is my very first visit to Calvin University, but the “spirit of Calvin” touched me 40 years ago when as a foreign student, I was admitted to study for my graduate school at Purdue University,’’ he said.

According to Adesina, Dr Delmar Broersma, a graduate of the then Calvin College, pastored at Purdue the Upper Room Christian Fellowship, full of foreign students.

He said: “ A brilliant professor, yet filled with humility, Broersma showed us that what is most important in life is to let Christ shine in every area of our lives.

“I prayed there that I would let God use my life to shine for Him in the world by being an instrument of change.

“Before me, today is the Class of 2023 from Calvin University. It is your turn to become God’s instrument of change in the world. And instruments of change you will become!

“You have been well prepared academically. You have worked hard. You have overcome many challenges and hurdles. You have succeeded. Congratulations! ‘’

The AfDB president urged the class to live for others rather than self and ensure to positively affect as many lives as possible as it was a gift that would last forever.

Narrating his experience as a foreign graduate student at Purdue University in the 80s, Adesina said he survived school through the assistance of people of goodwill who believed in him.

“Their trust and investment in me paid off. Many years later, I won the World Food Prize, known as the “Nobel Prize for Agriculture”.

“How could my professors have known at the time that they were helping someone who would later become a World Food Prize Laureate?

“How would they have known they were helping someone who would later become President of the African Development Bank Group?

“How could they have known that this skinny kid would go on to manage not 25 cents, but 208 billion dollars?

“They are instruments of change, destiny shapers! These encounters and experiences have helped define who I am and my approach to life, serving humanity and making a difference,’’ he said.

Adesina said the present and the future belonged to this generation, and their creativity and dynamism would make a difference for good as they were builders and shapers of hope.

He said:“ You have been well prepared to go into the world to be the change makers. You have received a world-class education. You have been exposed to great ideas.

“ You are ready, and the world awaits you! A world that faces new challenges. At the top is climate change, which poses an existential risk for the world.

“We must do all we can to keep global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. We need innovations to power the world better with renewable energy.

“We must do all to feed the world. It is unacceptable that over 2.3 billion people worldwide go hungry. God did not create stomachs to go empty. He created them to be filled. ‘’

According to the AfDB boss, the Covid-19 pandemic taught the importance of global pandemic preparedness and ensuring access to affordable health care for all.

He expressed confidence that the students would be change-makers who would carry the love of God into a turbulent world. Changemakers with a heart.

He said:“The future before us is not doom and gloom. It is a future of exciting and infinite possibilities. You have a role to play in this unfolding chapter of history.

“ With God’s help and grace, I am confident that you will stand out and do exploits that will make our world a better place. You cannot shrivel; you must blossom!

“You cannot be hidden; you must stand out! Learn to commit yourselves to working hard.

“ So, as you enter the labour market, stay in your mind. Regardless of where you find yourself, live a purposeful life. Inspire others! Support others! Pour yourselves into helping others unleash their potential.’’

The AfDB boss, while advising the class, quoted Proverbs 3:37, which says, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”

(NAN)